 Divergence of a flow

The divergence of a flow at a vertex $v$ is net outward flow. For original nonnegative edge amounts and their signed net record, respectively,Positive divergence of a flow means net supply, negative divergence of a flow means net demand, and zero is flow conservation. This is the same sign convention as flow balance.

In the running example, the divergences of a flow at $(s,a,b,t)$ are $(5,0,0,-5)$. Adding the four divergences of a flow gives zero: every edge contributes positively at one endpoint and negatively at the other. In a finite flow network, this cancellation explains why net supply at $s$ equals net demand at $t$.